Her wedding day
by Nenja
Summary: The young Death Eater Severus Snape is reading the paper, when he comes across a photo that brings back old memories... [Severus Snape and Lily Evans]


**Author's notes:** Ever since I read " Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" I've wanted to write a story about Severus and Lily . Their relationship was incredibly sad and beautiful. This little story takes place during the first war.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own these characters or the universe they live in. All I own is this story.

* * *

It was almost dark now. Outside, all decent people had gone home to sleep. It was quite dark inside Spinner End too, a single candle lightened up the living room, creating shadows that only made the altogether dark atmosphere even darker. A newspaper almost covered the table, and from almost every page the people in the photos looked up at the reader. The pale, young man stared down at them with an uninterested gaze. His greasy hair constantly got in the way, and only strengthened the uninterested impression. 

If someone else had read the paper, they probably wouldn't have such an uninterested expression. Because if one could stop focusing at the moving photos, and moves on to the headlines, it was quite clear that the paper had no good news. At least not in the headlines. The headlines where filled with stories of murders and disappearances. The young man frowned. In the end the word 'disappearance' was only a short-term for 'probably dead, but the body have not jet been found'. From every page, there was a photo of people that was missing, or their families, or perhaps even a body.

Severus Snape turned page after page, barely reading the words on them. Sometimes, he recognised a name or a photo, and that was the only time the uninterested look left his face. A photo of a blond man in the late twenties caught his attention. The man wasn't smiling; he seemed rather nervous, in fact. The photo was probably quite new.

_Derek__ Summerby (28), haven't been seen since Monday. His wife, Rosalynn P. Summerby (26) asks for any help possible to find her husband. He was last seen when he left his home going for work at the Ministry of Magic, where he is working as an auror- _

"Disappeared, hah!"

Severus knew that he and at least five others knew more about the whereabouts of Summerby than the Daily Prophet. At least they knew certainly, what his wife was suspecting and fearing. Rosalynn P. Summerby should rather prepare herself than asking for help; her husband was an auror, he hadn't been seen in three days ... what more did the woman need? His body? Too bad, because that body would probably be hard to identify.

He turned the page again. Funerals; lots of them nowadays ... Weddings; not a lot of them ... He stopped and glanced down the page; it was the only page where the persons in photos were smiling. It seemed like it still was someone in the world that believed they had a future. Or perhaps they just wanted to get it over with, because then they at least would have had some time together before something 'happened'. Nobody could feel safe. He could almost see it in some of the faces; their smiles were big and real, jet some of them still had a nervous glimpse in their eyes, a little like Derek Summerby, in fact. What were they thinking? Did they have a future? They promised to stay together for better or for worse ... probably most for the worse. Perhaps it only lasted a week? A month? His ponderings very suddenly cut of when he recognised someone again.

A little, black-and-white photo below the other wedding photos. A small text told people who they were and when they had gotten married, but he didn't care about the text. His eyes were focused on the little photo. Two people. A newlywed couple. He placed one hand over the right half of the picture so that only the bride was visible. A young woman with long hair. Although the photo was black-and-white, he knew the colour of her hair. It was red. Red hair and green eyes. The grey woman in the photo smiled, and unlike the others, she didn't have a nervous glimpse in her eyes; they were shining. Shining with joy.

_Lily Evans and James Potter__ married yesterday at __Godric's Hollow. Small and private ceremony. Photo taken by the best man, Sirius Black. _

"Lily Evans Potter ... "

The words tasted odd, new and ... disgusting. It was like looking trough a door that never could be opened again, a door that seemed to be closed only moments ago. It was too late now. Too late. He stud up from the sofa and walked towards the window. Starring out, not finding a point to focus on. Like if he couldn't really see at all. A small voice inside of him said that he should move on; it was over, nothing more to do. Perhaps he even should be relieved. Jet he wasn't.

"Lily Evans ..."

He had lost her. He had never had her, he knew that, but this was definitive. And he hadn't even lost her now, or a couple of days ago ... it had only taken a few words, a few rash words as a fifteen year old. If he could have gotten one wish, it would have been to take back those words, because there wasn't anything that he had regretted more than saying them; he had regretted from the very moment he had spoken them, and he still did. It had been his choice; he had the choice between her and them ... and in the end, he had chosen them. If he was given that choice again, perhaps he would have chosen differently.

"Lily ..."

He wished to forget. To get it over with, jet he couldn't. His fingers touched the cold and dewy window, drew an arched line, then another one; green eyes and red hair. He didn't even need to close his eyes to see her. He had never told her. Never. He had tried to tell several times, but he didn't dare. They had been 'just friends' and nothing more. And now she probably hated him. The last time he saw her, at the end of the seventh year, when the Hogwarts Express had reached the end station, they hadn't even said goodbye. He had wanted to tell her then too, but she just walked away. It was too late.

The eye in the dew ran slowly, like tears. He turned his back to the window and picked up the newspaper again. He picked up the wand in his pocket and mumbled a spell; like scissors, the wand cut into the thin paper, so that her part of the photo was free. He didn't even offer a stare to the man in the picture. Lily smiled. He could pretend that he only smiled for him, even if he knew that it was a lie.

He had been standing by the table for several minutes, staring at the photo with a painfully longing gaze, when he suddenly felt it. He placed the photo down on the table again, and pushed back the robes on his left forearm. An image of a snake and a scull were tattooed on the arm. Normally it was red, but now, it had turned black. He quickly picked up the photo, and placed it under the candlestick when he put out the candle with a flick of his wand. And with another flick, he was gone. They waited for him.


End file.
